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According to a study by global consulting firm Bain & Company, generative AI will grow from less than 5% of game development now to 50% or more in the next five to 10 years.
The research titled “How Will Generative AI Change the Video Game Industry” surveyed 25 gaming executives globally and revealed their views on the impact of generative AI on the industry.
The survey found that the majority of respondents believe that generative AI will increase game quality and speed up game development. However, only 20% of officials believe that this will reduce development costs.
Additionally, 60% of respondents do not expect generative AI to significantly address the talent shortage in the gaming industry. The 60% number is too high, as it may mean that generative AI won’t destroy a ton of jobs, executives believe.
“While most executives we spoke to believe that generative AI can relieve developers of mundane tasks, they don’t believe it will replace the creative spark needed in game development, emphasizing the importance of human observation,” Andre James, Bain’s Media and Global Head said. Practice entertainment in a statement. “Despite implementation challenges, most respondents expect generative AI to impact gaming in a way that far exceeds the impacts experienced by other technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and cloud gaming.”
A year ago, Bain & Company made a bold prediction about the future of the video game industry. In a recent report, a global consulting firm predicted that the games industry would grow by 50% to $300 billion over the next five years.
“While this is an exciting time for the industry, games are growing in size and development costs are increasing,” said Anders Kristofferson, a leading gaming expert and partner in Bain’s media and entertainment practice. “Enter producer AI, which, if used correctly, has incredible potential to break down industry barriers while simultaneously providing capabilities that can benefit creators, publishers and consumers.”
chance
While executives acknowledged that generative AI could free developers from mundane tasks, they emphasized the importance of human creativity in game development. Executives emphasized that generative AI should be used as a tool alongside human observation rather than a replacement for the creative process. Executives expect generative AI to have a more substantial impact on gaming than other technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and cloud gaming.
“Video games are a topic of interest for many of our clients. So this year, we’ve been spending a good majority of the year thinking about it,” Kristofferson said in an interview with GamesBeat. “There is a lot of hype with generative AI and it has become a buzzword in gaming. So we want to understand what people are really thinking about it. It is not some mythical idea that we must fight on the streets. People are using it today for the video game creation process. The collective feeling is that its use will increase over time.”
The study shows that generative AI will play a more important role in the production phase of game development over the next decade, moving away from its current predominant use during pre-production. Areas where generative AI is expected to have a major impact include story creation and non-playable characters (NPC), game assets, live game operations, and user-generated content.
“The most interesting thing is that AI is going to fundamentally change the way games are made, but maybe it’s not going to follow on its heels as much as people expect,” Kristofferson said. “Where we see it really impacting is the pre-production and production stages of gaming. And the result is, you’re going to free up time spent doing less value-added activities, storyboarding and visuals and that sort of thing, which enables game developers to focus more time on the creative storytelling element. of game making, which is going to be really fascinating.”
He added, “I think the quality of games, the speed to market, the storytelling and the interactive nature will increase tremendously when that happens.”
It may be hard to see how AI can do more than half the work in game development, but Christopherson noted that AI is already responsible for a lot of programming work at companies, and that programming is a big part of game production.
Some have pointed to the legal and regulatory challenges of the work. Generative AI can tap models that use the creative work of others without permission. If that work is challenged, companies using AI may be vulnerable to lawsuits from appropriate rights holders. Kristofferson said this is indeed a hurdle for generative AI, but not as big as others.
“IP ownership is an issue that is being dealt with in AI applications across industries, not just gaming. And I think these are solvable problems in the near to medium term. And there will be legal processes that will enable video game companies to definitely use AI,” he said.
challenges
According to Bain, gaming executives identified system integration as the primary barrier to implementing generative AI in gaming. Other challenges cited by survey respondents include data training, technical capacity, regulatory and legal oversight, and implementation costs.
Long-term challenges for gaming companies adopting generative AI include creating effective AI strategies, navigating the nascent and complex landscape, addressing implementation implications, and retaining AI talent.
Bain’s survey revealed that 60% of gaming executives believe that generative AI will not solve the talent shortage, while only 20% believe it will reduce costs.
Four important steps
To maximize the benefits of generative AI, Ben suggests four key steps for gaming companies. First, taking a disciplined and deliberate approach to generative AI, including defining ambition, establishing appropriate governance and mitigating risk.
Second, the best approach would be to make decisions based on what would benefit the player the most, rather than just relying on generating more content. Third, it will be important to strategically evaluate opportunities to build in-house, partner with ecosystem players, or collaborate with specific companies.
Finally, executives need to recognize that generative AI requires more than just technological transformation and requires the development of new work processes and enterprise architecture strategies.
“The biggest takeaway or key theme for us is that you have to be thoughtful and disciplined and have a holistic AI strategy that enables them to navigate this really complex landscape,” Christopherson said.
Christopherson said he’s excited about how AI can have a big impact on user-generated content, because users have so many ideas but can’t actually implement them. AI can help them with the skills needed to make games based on ideas.
“I’m personally very excited about it,” Kristofferson said. “It’s going to be easier for less technically inclined players to start building.”
Bain & Company, a global consulting firm, helps organizations drive transformational change. With a network spanning 65 cities in 40 countries, Bain works with clients to achieve remarkable results and redefine industries.
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